'On a spring morning in 1951, eleven-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce gathers with her family at the railway station, awaiting the return of her long-lost mother, Harriet. Yet upon the train's arrival in the English village of Bishop's Lacey, Flavia is approached by a tall stranger who whispers a cryptic message in her ear. Moments later, he is dead, mysterious pushed under the train by someone in the crowd. Who was this man, what did his words mean, and why were they intended for Flavia?
Back home at Buckshaw, the de Luces' crumbling estate, Flavia puts her sleuthing skills to the test. Following a trail of clues sparked by the discovery of a reel of film stashed away in the attic, she unravels the deepest secrets of the de Luce clan, involving none other than Winston Churchill himself.
Surrounded by family, friends, and a famous pathologist from the Home Office--and making spectacular use of Harriet's beloved Gipsy Moth plane, Blithe Spirit--Flavia will do anything, even take to the skies, to land a killer.'
My thoughts:
I love this series. I love Flavia. I love her quirkiness and her intelligence. This series is one of my favorites of all times. I love Alan Bradley's writing style and I love how this series is so different from the rest of the cozy mystery series. Flavia is eleven years old and she is smarter than most people. She has a serious knack for chemistry that makes my eyes cross. Bradley has a certain intellectual writing style that makes you feel smarter by just reading one of his books. This book is the one that lovers of this series has been dreading. Harriet has been found and is being brought home in a casket. This story walks the readers through a grieving process and you can't help but feel for the characters. This book is really a stepping stone for the next installments of the series and sets the future path for the characters.
This book was a little slow going for me. If you love the mystery part of the series, well you won't find it in this book. There is a little mystery, but nothing like the others in this series. This is more of a character and story development installment. I have to say that I did struggle with this one more than the others. I felt like it really didn't have the same "flair" that the others had in the series previously. I was a little disappointed, but I do understand what the author was trying to do here so I cannot be too disappointed. The ending of this book was a little shocking, but it was a good cliff hanger and I cannot wait to read it. In fact, I am glad that I do not have to wait and I will be starting the next book right away.
Overall, this book is not the usual for the series or for the author, but if you truly love this series, you will stick with it because it clears up the past and opens so many doors for the future. Flavia is certainly in for some new adventures and I am anxious to get started.
Overall Rating: 3.5
Title: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches
Author: Alan Bradley
Series: Flavia de Luce Mystery #6
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: December 30, 2014
Pages: 352
Genre: Historical Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.